have prayed the Father for thee, that thy faith fail not, arid thou being converted, confirm thy brethren. See, beloved, the truth cannot be falsified, nor can the faith of Peter ever be shaken or changed.'[1]
St. Gregory the Great, a.d. 604, in his celebrated letter to Maurice, Emperor of the East, says, 'For it is clear to all who know the Gospel, that the care of the whole Church was committed to the Apostle St. Peter, prince of all the Apostles. For to him it is said, "Peter, lovest thou Me? Feed My sheep." To him it is said, "Behold, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not, and thou being once converted, confirm thy brethren." To him it is said, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church,"' &c.[2]
Stephen, Bishop of Dori, a.d. 649, at a Lateran Council under Martin I. says, in a libellus supplex or memorial read and recorded in the acts, 'Peter the Prince of the Apostles was first commanded to feed the sheep of the Catholic Church, when the Lord said, "Peter, lovest thou Me? Feed My sheep." And
- ↑ Nostis enim in evangelic dominum proclamantem, Simon, Simon, ecce Satanas expetivit vos, ut cribraret sicut triticum, ego autem rogavi pro te Patrem, ut non deficiat fides tua, et tu conversus confirma fratres tuos. Considerate, carissimi, quia veritas mentiri non potuit, nec fides Petri in æternum quassari poterit vel mutari.—Pelagius. II. epist. v. in Labbe, Concil. tom. vi. p. 626.
- ↑ Cunctis enim Evangelium scientibus liquet, quod voce dominica sancto et omnium apostolorum Petro Principi Apostolo totius Ecclesiae cura commissa est. Ipsi quippe dicitur, Petre, amas me? pasce oves meas. Ipsi dicitur, Ecce Satanas expetiit cribrare vos sicut triticum; et ego pro te rogavi, Petre, ut non deficiat fides tua; et tu aliquando conversus confirma fratres tuos. Ipsi dicitur, Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram, etc. St. Gregor. Epist. lib. v. ep. xx. tom. ii. 748, ed. Ben. Paris, 1705.
